PORTER Magazine

How many pairs of shoes do you own? How many pairs of shoes do you wear? These are two things I think about daily when I open my closet and an avalanche of not-very-lovingly maintained footwear comes tumbling out. What a graveyard of impulse buys lies in the bottom of that Stygian closet; all those purchases that became a half size too small or plain unwalkable when I got them home. (Why, when I am shoe shopping, do I picture myself being carried in a sedan chair everywhere?)

What is left that I actually wear? Let’s see. A pair of Miu Miu platform sling-backs at least five years old (my